LONDON (Reuters) -Britain on Sunday said it would force retailers to carry out stricter age verification checks to prevent children from buying knives, in a tightening of policy days after a teenager admitted killing three young girls at a Taylor dance event Kill Swift.
Axel Rudakubana’s knife attack in July was described last week as one of the most frightening moments in Britain’s history by Prime Minister Keir Starrer and has sparked a public inquiry into the mistakes that made it possible.
While this investigation is expected to show that state institutions failed to act on warnings about the killer before his attack, attention has also turned to regulations on the purchase of knives.
Current UK laws require retailers to have an age verification system to prevent those under 18 from purchasing knives, but elements of these systems are not clearly defined.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told Parliament last week it was a disgrace that Rudakubana, who was 17 at the time of the attack, was able to buy a knife online.
On Sunday, the government said it would now require retailers to check photo identification both at the time of sale and after delivery, and that deliveries can only be accepted by the person who placed the order.
“It’s a total disgrace how easy it still is for children to get dangerous weapons online,” Cooper said in a statement Sunday.
“It’s too easy to invest in false birth dates; packages are too often dropped off at a doorstep with no questions asked.”
The measures will be included in a bill that will begin the legislative process in Parliament in the coming months.
